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Juiseppe Cusumano
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Sicilian heavyweight Cusumano returns to Bally's Twin River June 24 with a new camp and a new outlook on his future in boxing
 

Lincoln, RI – The new Juiseppe Cusumano doesn’t like to look back too much at the old Juiseppe Cusumano

Juiseppe 2.0 is a leaner, stronger, more determined version of the old model, not the same Cusumano who barely lasted two minutes against Daniel Dubois in August.

Fight fans can expect fireworks Friday, June 24 at Ballys Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort when Cusumano (19-4, 17 KOs) unveils a never-before-seen rendition of himself in an eight-round bout against Brazilian heavyweight Irineu Beato Costa Junior at Summer Splash, presented by CES Boxing.

His long-awaited return to Ballys, where has hasn’t fought since 2019, caps a busy training camp in which the 6-foot-4 Cusumano spent the majority of time away from his residence in Danville, VA, and instead trained everywhere from Costa Rica and Tampa to Connecticut and New York.

Summer Splash also features Warwick, RI, resident Jaime "Hurricane" Clampitt battling Texas lightweight Miranda "El Alacrana" Reyes, plus the Ballys debut of unbeaten super middleweight and 6-foot-2 southpaw Francis Hogan of Weymouth, MA. Tickets are available at CESFights.com.

When Cusumano lost to Dubois on Showtime, a lopsided bout in which the "Sicilian Nightmare" hit the canvas three times before referee George Nichols stopped the fight, the 34-year-old heavyweight considered walking away from the sport. He had already begun thinking about life after boxing, using his payout from the Dubois fight to purchase a gym in anticipation of running his own fitness boxing courses.

But, in a plot twist straight out of Hollywood, Cusumano had a change of heart. He knew his performance against Dubois didn’t reflect who he was as a fighter or how much he had progressed under the guidance of promoter Jimmy Burchfield Sr. To quote a certain well-known fictional Italian boxer, there was "still some stuff in the basement." He had to make one more run at not only competing for a world title, but showing boxing fans there’s more to him than what they saw that fateful night in August.

"I told Jimmy, ‘That’s not me,’" Cusumano said. "I had only six rounds of sparring before that fight. I was in out of the gym. I had a lot of personal issues going on. And the whole world saw me like that. It eats me alive.

"It would’ve been different if I was ready and I went through a war and lost a close fight, but I wasn’t mentally ready – or really ready in any regard. I’ve got to get back on Showtime and show what I really have in my blood and in my heart.

"I won’t be a happy man if I don’t do what I’ve got to do. Then I’ll sit back and say, ‘Oh, I could’ve done that, but I didn’t.’ At least now if anything happens in my career that messes me up, I’ll know I gave it all I’ve got. No regrets."

After taking some time off to recover and reflect on his mistakes – and pray, Cusumano said – he received a call from the manager of unbeaten Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang inviting him to spar for two weeks in New Jersey. That turned into a three-week stay with Zhang’s camp in Tampa, this time with Cusumano participating in every minute of every workout, not just the sparring sessions.

"As soon as I finished camp there, I knew I didn’t want to go back home," Cusumano said.

As luck would have it, he then received a call from an associate in Costa Rica inviting him to fly south for a makeshift "boot camp" training in the jungles and mountains, often running eight miles a day in brutal conditions.

"The training I did there was unbelievable," Cusumano said. "It got me out of my comfort zone – way out – and it felt to me like when I got past that zone, I got lost. Now you’re in a different world and you’re still pushing. That’s what you need in fights. You have to get out of your comfort zone."

After Costa Rica, Cusumano reached out to his promoter, who then set him up at Champs Boxing & Fitness in Danbury, CT, under the guidance of coach Dave McDonough. Cusumano has been at Champs for the last four weeks, traveling back and forth to New York to spar with the likes of WBO world light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. and Connecticut heavyweight Cassius Chaney.

"I’m really proud of myself," Cusumano said. "You have to make tough decisions in life. I could’ve stayed home, ran the gym, worked a 9-to-5, but I knew I had already made a name for myself and hadn’t even put 100% into it. I never traveled and got the work like I should have. I didn’t stay consistent. I went back home, fooled around, got sidetracked. Now I’m making the sacrifices necessary to achieve this dream."

Cusumano still has family in Virginia, including his 12-year-old son, a budding southpaw baseball star who cranked three home runs in his last game. Being away from loved ones is difficult, but Cusumano knows if he doesn’t give it his all now, he’ll regret it later in life. This is the version of himself he always dreamt he could be.

"This is what I needed. I needed to be around boxing and be around good sparring. That’s what I was missing," Cusumano said. "Now, if I get a call and people need work, I’m there. That’s what I should have been doing all along."

Full fight details for Summer Splash are available online. For more information, follow CES Boxing on FacebookInstagram and Twitter at @CESBOXING.

 
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Reading, Mass., heavyweight John Johnston will put his undefeated record on the line Friday, March 14th, 2014 at "CES MMA XII" at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., against UFC vet Josh Hendricks for the vacant CES MMA title. Johnston has won all five of his bouts by knockout. (CES photo by Ian Travis Barnard)
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CES MEDIA ALERT

Johnston hopes to seize golden opportunity in heavyweight title bout Friday 


                          
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UFC vet Josh Hendricks will look for his second win at Twin River Casino in as many tries. Two years ago, he beat Connecticut native Josh Diekmann by submission at the same venue.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 12th, 2014) -- When heavyweight John Johnston made his professional mixed martial arts debut three years ago at the age of 40 with only a few Muay Thai fights under his belt, competing for a title was the last thing on this mind.

 

"It was one of those things I always thought about," he said, "but never imagined it could happen."

 

As if often the case in a sport as unpredictable as MMA, dreams sometimes come true, and Johnston's dream of fighting for a title will, in fact, become a reality Friday, March 14th, 2014 when the unbeaten Reading, Mass., heavyweight faces Josh Hendricks for the vacant CES MMA championship at "CES MMA XXII" at Twin River Casino.

 

Hendricks (19-9, 5 KOs), a 37-year-old Mansfield, Ohio veteran, will have experience on his side, which includes a brief stint with the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), but Johnston (5-0, 5 KOs) has launched his young career with five knockout wins in five fights, making this a must-see five-rounder on a stacked undercard that also includes seven-time UFC vet Drew Fickett.

 

"I respect Josh," Johnston said. "He's had his run. He's had some great fights, but every fight is different. I'm expecting the fight of my life."

 

In addition to his appearance on UFC 91 in 2008, which ended in a knockout loss to Boston-based heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga, Hendricks has other ties to New England. He beat Connecticut's Josh Diekmann at Twin River in 2012 and recently fought West Yarmouth, Mass., prospect Juliano Coutinho, who happens to be Johnston's jiu-jitsu coach. Johnston actually worked Coutinho's corner in that fight and has also sparred with Gonzaga, but won't rely too heavily on the input of others when it's his turn to face Hendricks.

 

"Everyone is different," Johnston said. "When Juliano fought Josh it was a totally different fight because Juliano is real comfortable on the ground and there wasn't much standup.

 

"We watch a lot of tapes on the people we're fighting and figure out what we have to do and what the game plan will be. Going into a fight, we're always well-prepared and ready to take the fight wherever it goes."

 

If Hendricks takes it to the ground, so be it, Johnston says, but the 6-foot-4, 257-pound heavyweight would prefer to trade hands with Hendricks given the fact he's won all five of his fights by knockout -- four in the first round. That doesn't mean he's one-dimensional, even if some opponents believe that's the case.

 

"My ground game gets overlooked because people never see it," Johnston said.

 

Johnston has worked with Division I wrestlers, most notably former Iowa State Hawkeye Quinn Boyce, and fellow MMA vet Pat Walsh to improve his ground game, which has come a long way since his pro debut three years ago.

 

One of the rare instances where Johnston had to use his wrestling and jiu-jitsu occurred in his second pro fight in 2011 against Shaun Durfee when he slipped on the canvas on the way into the cage and broke his ankle. In the opening round, Johnston thought he saw an opening for a head kick and tried to execute, but his support foot -- the one with the broken ankle -- gave way and he fell against the cage. Durfee immediately took him to the ground and tried his best to earn a submission, but Johnston held his ground and survived the round.

 

The fight didn't last much longer with Johnston earning the stoppage 38 seconds into the second round.

 

"I was fighting on a broken ankle and he couldn't submit me or finish me," Johnston said. "I'm mostly a standup fighter, which is fine with me. I'd rather people see that."

 

As far as conditioning goes, particularly for a 43-year-old fighter who has never fought past the second round, Johnston isn't concerned, not with all the training he's done since the end of 2013.

 

"I haven't had any breaks for a while," he said. "My last fight was in January and I trained nine weeks for that, and when that was over I got right back into the gym. I'm not worried at all about my conditioning. Our coaches put us through the wringer here. I'll be ready to go all five rounds."

 

Johnston's improbable run began more than a decade ago when he began training under Mark DellaGrotte at Siyodtong in Boston. Johnston was one of the school's head Muay Thai trainers, but soon began working -- and sparring -- with established veterans Jorge Rivera, Stephan Bonnar and Marcus Davis.

 

"I got the itch to fight," Johnston said.

 

After a long talk with DellaGrotte, who has hesitant at first to let Johnston turn pro at the risk of losing one of his best trainers, Johnston made his debut in 2011. Three years later at 43, he's fighting for a title against a former UFC vet. It's an improbable story, but not an impossible one, further prove that dreams do come true.

 

"This is what I do full-time now," Johnston said. "I'm looking at this one fight at a time. CES is a real good organization and has taken care of me. I'd love to continue with them, but if Bellator or someone like that gets in touch with me, hopefully I can get to a big show before I get to the point where I have to retire. I'm 43 now. I'm not getting any younger, but I'll keep going until my body tells me I can't."

 

Tickets for "CES MMA XXII" are on sale now at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com or www.twinriver.com or by phone at 401-724-2253/2254. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

 

The main event of "CES MMA XXII" features Fickett (42-20, 3 KOs) battling Providence's Luis Felix (10-7, 3 KOs) in a lightweight bout. Several undercard bouts could steal the show, including the highly-anticipated middleweight bout between UFC vet Thomas Egan (7-4, 6 KOs) of Dorchester, Mass., and Plymouth, Mass., veteran Chip Moraza-Pollard (7-6, 4 KOs) a former Reality Fighting and Bellator contender. Egan, born and raised in Kildare, Ireland, starred on UFC 93 in Ireland.

 

Looking to keep the momentum going from his win over Chris Woodall in November, former TUF vet Chuck O'Neill (12-6, 4 KOs) of East Bridgwater, Mass., will battle Dade City, Fla., welterweight Roger Carroll (13-10) in a three-round bout. Caroll has won 11 bouts by submission. Lightweight contender Andres Jeudi (5-2, 1 KO) of Somerville, Mass., will face Brendan Rooney (5-1) of Shelton, Conn. 

 

Also on the undercard, rising featherweight star and Johnson & Wales alum Charles Rosa (6-0, 3 KOs) of Boynton Beach, Fla., will return to Twin River for the fourth time in a three-round bout against Philadelphia veteran Brylan Van Artsdalen (9-9, 1 KO), an eight-time Bellator veteran.

 

Marshfield, Mass., featherweight Brendan Fleming (3-2) will take on Baltimore's Robert Sullivan (3-1); fellow featherweight Josh LaBerge (8-4, 3 KOs) of Fall River, Mass., will battle Philadelphia's Steve McCabe (6-14, 5 KOs); Tommy Venticinque (0-1) of Warwick, R.I., will face Rick Rivera of Springfield, Mass., in a welterweight bout; and Winthrop, Mass, featherweight Kyle Bochniak (1-0) will aim for his second win of the year when he faces Marius Enache (1-2) of Philadelphia. 

 

-- CES --

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